How to Play Blitz

The blitz card game, also referred to as the dutch blitz card game, is an easy draw and discard game for two or more players using one deck of playing cards. You need four tokens per person to keep track of lives. The tokens do not have to match and have no significant meaning except for keeping track of lives. Place four tokens in front of each player to represent lives where everyone can see. When a player loses a life, remove a token.

Blitz Rules

| Players: 2+ | Type: Elimination | Supplies: 1 Deck, 4 Tokens per Player |

Objective

The objective of blitz is to get the value of the cards in your hand as close to 31 as you can get, and not have the lowest valued hand. The player furthest from 31 when the round ends loses a life.

Deal

Each player is dealt three cards, one card at a time. The remaining deck is placed in the middle. The top card of the remaining deck is flipped over to start the discard pile. Each player will start with four tokens representing four lives.

Card Values

Ace: 11
Jack/Queen/King: 10
2-10: Face value

Card values are only added together if the cards are the same suit.
The only exception: three of a kind in any card rank has a value of 30.

Game Play

The player left of the dealer is first to play. To start your turn you draw a card from either the top of the discard pile, or the deck. Once a player draws a card, they decide which card to discard to the discard pile, after they add one card to the discard pile, their turn is over. Play moves clockwise with players trying to improve the value of the cards in their hand.

When a player is comfortable with the value of their hand, they can knock at the beginning of their turn. When you knock, you do not draw or discard a card, the knock is considered your turn. After a player knocks, every other player gets one more turn of drawing and discarding a card.

After the last player has played, all players show their cards. The player with the lowest hand value loses a life.

Shuffle the cards, rotate the dealer, and play another round. Play rounds until only one player is left with a token.

Additional Rules

If a player has a hand value of 31, this is a blitz, the cards are immediately shown and every other player that doesn’t have a hand value of 31 loses a life.

If a player knocks, and has the lowest hand value, they lose two lives.

If the player that knocks ties with another player for lowest hand value, the player that did not knock is the only player that loses a life.

If two or more players that did not knock tie for lowest hand value, all of the tied players lose a life.

When a player loses their last life (token), they are out of the game.

Winner

The winner of blitz is the last player with a life.